Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes for cleaning the interiors of frac tanks. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes that utilize a pair of pipes connected together and that have one or more washout nozzles disposed along the length of one of the pipes.
Description of Related Art
Frac tanks are typically used for fracking wells in the oil and gas industry, and may be used to store a variety of fluids such as run-off water, diesel fuel, glycol, oils, waste products, crude oil, oil or water based drilling mud, crude based sludge, and flow back. FIGS. 1 and 2 show perspective views of a typical frac tank 10. It is desirable to keep these tanks clean to prevent cross contamination of fluids and to ensure sediments and residues do not build up within the Frac tank. Existing washing devices and systems include U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,261,109; 7,089,949; 6,988,677; 6,378,791; 6,192,905; 5,720,310; 5,638,845; 5,195,548; 5,033,490; 4,574,825; 4,413,785; 4,351,478; 4,244,523; 4,220,170; 3,741,808; 3,645,452; 3,599,871; 3,104,672; 2,845,091; 1,693,885; U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2014/0190517; 2013/0213674; 2011/0246162; 2011/0047743; 2010/00025497; 2006/0065292; 2005/0229954; 2005/0199269; and International Patent Application Nos. WO 2014/023476 and WO 2008/113070. Current cleaning methods and devices are typically manual often requiring extensive labor and confined space entry, or are complex and cumbersome, while in addition wand-type devices configured for different applications typically do not scale up for cleaning large tanks and for delivering high volumes of cleaning fluids at high pressure. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved devices, systems, and processes for cleaning frac tanks.